There Is Much More After Death
by File Redacted
Summary: Minato and Kushina are dead now. But is that the end? What happened after their deaths?
1. Entry

**~There Is Much More After Death~**

"Thank you so very much."

Kushina Uzumaki spoke her last words as she drifted out of Naruto's subconscious and floated away to another realm. Naruto cried with a smile on his face, having learned the truth about his parents, having been able to meet them and know them.

Some people think that when Naruto's parents died, they were powerless. Even in death, Naruto's parents were filled with the greatest strength they had known, yet it was more than strength. Love. It was because of Kushina and Minato's love that Naruto managed to stay alive. It was their sacrifice, and the nine-tails' chakra was their parting gift.

His parents were in another world now. Naruto comforted himself knowing they were going to heaven. They would finally be able to see each other again, after sixteen long years.

A few minutes after Kushina faded away, Naruto closed his eyes. "Will you be watching over me?"

Kushina floated up to an unfamiliar place. She saw a little girl with bright red hair. The tomato-haired child drew nearer and smiled at Kushina.

"Who are you?" Kushina asked.

"You don't even recognize me? How unlike you. I was expecting a warmer greeting."

Kushina looked into the little girl's face. A wave of shock came over her, possessing her. In that pitiful face she noticed something all too familiar. Hatred.

"You'r—you're…"

"I'm the hatred in your heart. I am part of you. Don't you remember? When you were only a girl? They took you away and forced you to become a Jinchuuriki!" the girl yelled at Kushina.

"That is the past now."

"They caused our death."

"There is no "our." I'm a different person. You are the old me. You have no right!" Kushina would not give in to that darker side..she could not.

"Those boys- they used to bully us every day. Remember we were tormented? And Minato— he ignored us for the longest time!"

The doubt that this girl possessed was no longer a part of Kushina, so why did it seem to never go away? Why did it always seem like hatred surrounded her?

Kushina realized this and laughed at the girl. She was looking at the shell of who she used to be. The way she used to feel. For a moment Kushina drifted away into her memories, remembering the moment she fell in love with Minato. He saved her. He cared about her.

"Why are you laughing?" the girl grunted angrily.

"Because I just realized how far I've come since I was a little girl, ya know. It's funny seeing myself as I once was. I'd come to terms with all that long ago. Any memories of that hatred- it seems so surreal, ya know."

With that, the pitiful girl disappeared. She grew up and her eyes changed from a dark red back to their normal color. That little girl became Kushina.

Suddenly the environment changed and Kushina was standing by a golden gate, still unaware of her surroundings. The gate was opening; Kushina had passed the entry test to heaven. She had come to terms with her hate. She conquered it and in its place, love took over. Kushina sat there with her eyes closed, crying with a smile on her face.

Hearing the gate open, Kushina turned and opened her eyes, overflowing with joy at the sight before her.

"I've been waiting for you." Only a few seconds later, a blur of yellow flashed by.

It reappeared at her side and hugged her.

"Minato!" she shouted, squeezing him tight in her arms. She looked right into his blue eyes. They reminded her of Naruto's eyes.

"Our boy has grown up. I feel like there was so much more I needed to tell him."

Minato smiled. "We'll see him again." Rethinking his words, he started, "Hopefully not for awhile though." He grinned and rubbed the back of his neck.

"About that night sixteen years ago… I'm glad you sealed the nine-tails inside of him. I didn't understand at the time, but I know now that it was because you had faith in him. And there is something more."

"What is it?" asked the Yellow Flash.

Kushina smiled as she said, "He took control of the nine-tails' chakra."

"I knew this day would come. He makes me proud. The last time I saw him he was about ready to remove my seal on the nine-tails. I'm thankful for it, too. Because of that I got to see him grown up and could finally move on. I could finally see your face again."

With that, Minato pulled Kushina closer and leaned in to her kiss her.

"I'm sorry that I never had a chance to grow old with you," Minato said. "But now I'm ready to spend eternity with you."


	2. Imperfections

**~There Is Much More After Death~**

Those within the gates of heaven live in eternal happiness, a perfect existence that never ends. The world's sorrows and problems disappear and become unfamiliar to those in heaven. However, outside the golden gates, perhaps a mile beyond, a small patch of sky clear of clouds exists. Souls in heaven may travel outside the gates when they wish and see the living world below, though many who have moved on or are satisfied no longer wish to interact with Earth.

It would have been nice to think that Kushina heard Naruto ask, "Will you be watching over me?" This was not the case. Only the present may be seen in heaven. The past and future incidences are reserved for no one.

Kushina was content thinking that Naruto conquered the nine-tails and could live out his life without her. What she needed to tell him was done. She became detached from worldly affairs. Everything was right in heaven and her mind was at peace. Each day took its course as if better than any day she had ever lived through on Earth.

Minato was not as satisfied with this. After hearing a bit about Naruto from Kushina, he remembered the world he had forgotten. Naruto. His son was alive and there was still so much Minato did not know about him. Minato needed to watch over his son and make sure everything was okay. He already knew Kushina's feelings about this; she disapproved. Minato remembered their conversation from the previous day.

* * *

><p>"You need to forget about that. We've moved on, or at least I have." Kushina had said.<p>

"I've moved on, too. Otherwise I would still be in limbo. I'd forgotten about our son until you returned. I don't want to forget about him. What kind of world is this? It was perfect until…" Minato stopped. He didn't know how to end the sentence.

"…Until I showed up?" Kushina asked feeling hurt. Kushina was frightened, hurt, and confused all at once. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Her worries and cares were supposed to disappear, yet Minato stirred up her human feelings once more, ones that would have been better extinguished and forgotten.

"No. It isn't like that. You made me realize how imperfect heaven is," he said. Heaven, imperfect? How could such a thing be possible? Kushina could not believe the words coming out of his mouth. They were so unlike him.

Their conversation ended with Kushina running back to their room, hiding her face from the light outside her window, confused. Of course, Kushina could not cry because such unhappy expressions do not exist in heaven. It wasn't heaven for her from then on. Just as Kushina made Minato realize that his ties with the world were not yet broken, he made her realize that involving the world in heavenly affairs created a new world. It was neither heaven nor Earth. What was this place where memories of pain and uncertainty returned to her?

* * *

><p>Remembering all this, Minato decided to sneak outside of heaven and seek information about his son. It would be better if Kushina didn't know. Then Minato would not recall her feelings of sorrow and confusion.<p>

Minato flashed outside the gates in an instant and in no longer than a minute reached his destination. A little lonely patch of clear air called to him. Minato walked forward and peered down at life on Earth. He could direct his sight to any point in the world below and concentrate his thoughts there, but an unknown price came with this pleasure. Remembering the world created imperfection. Worry, fear, uncertainty, pain, and suffering rose up to Minato's heaven. These emotions infected not only Minato, but they spread to his love too.

Seeing his son again made Minato happy. Though he had been moping the day before, he was enjoying every minute seeing Naruto. Perhaps if Kushina had not begun a discussion about Naruto, Minato would have lived out his days in complete happiness, without the other harmful emotions interfering. Now Minato had the curiosity to feel the other emotions as well. He wanted to know everything involving Naruto. He would never forget about his precious son.

Sometimes he wondered which was better. He always came to the same conclusion; he was not alive if he was only happy. It was as if recalling the other emotions he once knew resurrected his spirit. Part of his soul had been locked away with the Reaper Jutsu. Now he was bringing the other part of himself home. He sacrificed his soul and left it abandoned in another world, so Minato could not be satisfied. Seeing Earth again gradually allowed his soul to complete itself.


	3. Ramen

**~There Is Much More After Death~**

Kushina awoke the morning after their fight, her pillow damp. It was unpleasant to awaken with her face buried in moist cloth. It was even more unpleasant to realize that Minato wasn't next to her. She brushed the thought away and leaned on the dry sheets that were covered in her fiery red hair. The fiery red hair he loved…

_This is silly. I'm perfectly happy here. Why should I need to worry about this? Minato will be back soon and he'll have gotten over his obsession._

Over and over again she tried to reassure herself, but in her heart she knew it was not something Minato would get over quickly. In fact, she was going to knock some sense into him when he got back.

The windows were everywhere, blinding Kushina with the light that seeped through. Kushina sighed. She stalked out of bed and walked slowly to the kitchen. Maybe some food would take her mind off of things. She went to check the cupboards, pulling out various spices and powders. There was no instant ramen. Opening the fridge, she saw several readymade bento boxes and some raw ingredients in case she wanted to cook anything. Maybe there would be a pot of pre-cooked ramen.

_Onigiri with umeboshi, sushi… This is no good! They don't even have ramen in heaven?_

She pulled out a piece of onigiri, sniffing it ravenously, and sighed. She hated to waste any form of food, even if it was utterly disgusting, but she figured more would appear later anyway, and she had already touched and smelled it. It fell with a thump into the trash can. Kushina would need to make her own ramen. They conveniently had the ingredients she needed, but they couldn't have the fridge stocked with cooked ramen?

Normally she would have loved to make her own ramen, being a skilled chef, but at the moment she wanted to cram the comforting noodles down her throat. After spending some time making and cooking the noodles, boiling the eggs, picking out the right seasonings, and frying little bits of fish, delicious aromas began to fill the air. It smelled infinitely better than the bland rice and the repulsive odor nori tended to emit.

Kushina brought a set of chopsticks over to the kitchen table and sat down to eat. She stared into her bowl as if it contained all the answers she sought. The fried fish cakes only brought her thoughts back to Naruto…

"Damn ramen! Why won't it leave me alone?" She shouted at the bowl. It was taunting her. She grabbed the lot of it and hurled it in the trash, followed by the sound of porcelain shattering.

"Naruto.."

She ran to the main hall and huddled up with her arms around her knees. She was safe from the fish cakes and the windows. Her arms wobbled ever so slightly when she rocked back and forth. It was an attempt to calm down, but it only made her more insecure. She wondered why she still kept that habit.

Fierce sunlight enveloped her as the door creaked open. She looked up to find the source of the blinding light that overpowered her eyelids. The sun was rising higher in the sky and bringing the day closer to the afternoon. Minato stepped in from behind the door with a smile on his face. Just the sight of him made her feel better, despite their little bout. He looked so alive compared to the man she saw the night before. She wondered for a bit if he was doing the right thing by going to watch over Naruto.

"Smile, love," he whispered in his melodious voice. His eyes were so caring and gentle. Had she imagined the confusion she felt before? It slowly dissipated from her mind as she stared into his loving eyes.

When she didn't respond, Minato took a seat next to her and stretched his arm around her back and over her huddled shoulder.

"Can we talk?" Kushina turned to face him seriously. She had hoped that his idea to see Naruto was only a dream. She wanted Minato to give up on his fantasy to connect with Earth again.

"As long as you like," he answered. Minato already knew what she wanted to talk about.

"I have some thoughts regarding your visits to check on Naruto." Kushina twiddled her fingers nervously.

She was ready to spill out her feelings and tell him that she didn't like him going to interfere with the living world. She longed to express how she wanted to let Naruto live his life without being watched all the time. Of course he wouldn't know, but would he actually want them to invade his life anymore when he couldn't see them or talk to them?

Instead she murmured out words she hadn't dared to think about consciously: "I'd like to come with you."

**Author's Note: I'm so terribly sorry for the long wait. I'd thought about giving up on this story because I lost interest in it, but I've come back with more inspiration to finish the chapter I started a couple months ago. This is just a short update to let you know I'm not abandoning the story. I'll be back, as long as I have some reviewers. Feel free to give me any commentary you like; I accept flames. Also, I'll probably put a poll at the end of my chapters. You guys now have the chance to influence the story, so go put in your vote!**

**A Quick Poll:**

**Which secondary pairing do you like the best?**

**A. One-sided NaruSaku**

**B. One-sided NaruHina**

**C. There should be no secondary pairing. It takes away from MinaKush**

**D. Other**

**Please Note: I probably will not use any choices other than A, B, and C for this story, but I still want to see your opinions for other stories! I made A and B one-sided to keep it canon.**


End file.
